Larry Birns

Larry Birns (born Lawrence Birns; July 22, 1929 – August 30, 2018{{Cite web|url=https://mobile.twitter.com/nicholasbirns/status/1035382056942022656|title=Tweet from Birns family}}) was the director of the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, a liberal, not-for-profit organization monitoring human rights and political developments in Latin America.{{Cite web|url=http://www.coha.org/message-from-the-board-and-friends-of-coha-on-the-passing-of-larry-birns/|title=Message from the Board and Friends of COHA on the Passing of Larry Birns|date=4 September 2018 }} Birns grew up in New York City, studied at Bates, and graduated from Columbia University, eventually doing postgraduate work in the social sciences at St. Catherine's College, Oxford University. Before founding the Council in 1975, Birns taught at Hamilton College and served with a United Nations mission in Chile during the Salvador Allende government.

The Boston Globe described Birns as an analyst and a liberal critic of U.S. policy,Kinzer, Stephen, Globe Correspondent. Coping with Latin America; At issue: how should we deal with leftists. Boston Globe Boston, Mass.: Jul 15, 1980. pg. 1 and The New York Times said the Council on Hemispheric Affairs was a liberal research group specializing in United States-Latin America relations,TREASTER, JOSEPH B. MAN IN THE NEWS; LATIN ENVOY: MR. SIMPATICO. New York Times. New York, N.Y.: Jun 2, 1983. pg. A.7 and an organization critical of Reagan Administration policy in Latin America.Mohr, Charles. Ousted Managua Envoy Kept Low Profile. New York Times. New York, N.Y.: Jul 14, 1988. pg. A.6 Birns also wrote commentary on Latin American and Caribbean affairs, for instance, contributing an afterword to Paul Farmer’s book The Uses of Haiti.{{Cite web|title=The Uses of Haiti|url=https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0506/S00044/the-uses-of-haiti-intro-to-3rd-edition.htm|website=The Uses of Haiti}} In 1991, Birns delivered the 8th annual Ellsworth Lecture at Northern Vermont University.{{Cite web|title=Ellsworth Lectures|url=https://www.northernvermont.edu/alumni/johnson-alumni/the-ellsworth-trust/}}